A defect examination apparatus detects defect locations for a plurality of to-be-inspected objects vertically and horizontally arranged according to a prescribed rule. A blob analysis section finds location coordinates for the plurality of to-be-inspected objects. Based on location coordinates found by this blob analysis section, a rotation angle calculation section finds a rotation angle for a horizontal series of the to-be-inspected objects against a horizontal line. The rotation angle calculation section also finds a rotation angle for a vertical series of the to-be-inspected objects against a vertical line. A pitch size calculation section finds vertical and horizontal pitch sizes for the plurality of to-be-inspected objects. A matrix number analysis section finds a matrix number for each to-be-inspected object based on a rotation angle found by the rotation angle calculation section and a pitch size found by the pitch size calculation section.